Port
Belize City, Belize
Activity Level
Moderate Activity
Excursion Type
All
Wheelchair Accessible
No
Starting At (prices in USD)
$150
Minimum Age
Information Not Currently Available
Duration
Approximately 6 Hours
Meals Included
Meals included
Your adventure begins when you step aboard a comfortable air-conditioned coach for a one-hour drive through the scenic Belize River Valley. You will pass through villages that were the original settlements of the colony of British Honduras on the way to Ayinha Eco Park.
Leave the coach to board a riverboat for a 30-minute cruise across the New River Lagoon. Experience the thrill of gliding through this extraordinary habitat, where the surrounding spectacular rain forest teems with exotic birds, deer and iguanas, mangroves and orchids. You're headed to Lamanai (loosely meaning 'submerged crocodile' in Yucatec Maya) -- once the largest Mayan ceremonial site in Meso-America and occupied as early as 1500 BC. Evidence of Mayan life dates from 1500 BC through the post-Classic period (AD 950 - 1544) and into the Spanish colonial era (AD 1544 - 1700). Lamanai is one of the largest excavated Mayan sites in northern Belize. Its ruins feature impressive architecture surrounded by dense rain forest and overlook the expanse of the magnificent lagoon. During the Conquest of the Yucatan, Spanish friars established two Roman Catholic Churches here, but a Maya revolt drove the Spaniards out.
Return to Ayinha Eco Park. The facilities here include a restaurant (upper and lower deck), bars, modern restrooms, and a gift shop for souvenir shopping. Enjoy a tasty Belizean-style lunch, cooked with local coconut oil and seasoned to perfection. Afterwards you'll have free time to relax and purchase a tropical drink if you wish (at your own expense) -- a locally-brewed Belikin beer or local rums paired with fresh organic coconut water.
Re-board the coach for the ride back to Belize City, retracing the route through the historic villages of the river valley.
Please note: Travel time to the boat is approximately one hour each way. The boat transfer is about 30 minutes each way. You will have about 1½ hours at the Lamanai site and a one-hour lunch break. Not advisable for guests with mobility limitations. Water, a boxed lunch and fruit punch are provided. Wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring sunscreen, a hat and insect repellent. Minimum age is 3 years. Not advisable for guests using a wheelchair or for those with mobility limitations. Please realistically assess your physical fitness and ability prior to booking, as the walk is uphill, over unpaved, rough walking tracks with many steps.